The Plague of Hyrule
by I am Lyon
Summary: Hello!! This is my first fic, so please review!!! As you can guess from the title, theres a plague in Hyrule, and guess who has to save the day? And... it's turning into a romance! AAAAHH!! Please read!! Rated PG only for a little violence! :)
1. Discovery

HELLO!!! This is my first adventure story... Hope u like it, and please review!!  
  
~Disclaimer: I Have a BBBIIIIGGG secret.... I don't own Zelda!! Isn't that a shock?!~  
  
  
The Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 1  
Discovery  
  
Link looked out of his small house's window and sighed. Life had been quiet since his return to Hyrule. Had had spent 10 years by himself, with the occasional visit to/from Zelda, Malon, Saria, Darunia, and Ruto. Epona was still young and faithful. But now... something was wrong.  
  
He couldn't place it, but somewhere evil was stirring. Since Zelda became Queen, things had been peaceful. Her father had passed away when Link was 18, leaving Zelda the only heir to the throne. All Hylians, including Kokiri's, Zora's, Gerado's and Gorons had lived together. Hyrule thrived, rich in trade, land, and peace. But now...  
  
He got up and walked to the table that held his swords. The Bigoron Sword and the Great Fairie Sword rested here, along with a sword Link himself had forged, called Evilenemy (though he had no reason why he named it this, he just liked the soundof that name). Both the Kokiri Sword and the Master Sword had been returned to their original resting places. The other swords he gained in Termina had been lost somewhere between the parellel universes. Also, the Mirror Shield, Hylian Shield, and D0eku Shield rested on that table. He picked up the Hylian shield an Evilenemy, which he preferred over all his other swords because of it's light wieght and size. To LonLon Ranch! he thought and called Epona.  
~*~  
  
It had been weeks since he had seen Malon, and he was rather excited when he entered the Ranch. "Malon?" he called.  
  
"In here," came the reply. She doesn't sound like herself, Link thought as he walked into her room. When he saw her, all excitement left him as if a whirlwind had suddenly blown his emotions out the window.  
  
"Goddesses!" he cursed as he saw her. She was lying in bed, her face gray, herr eyes dull with fever. He rushed to her side. "What happened, Mal?"  
  
"Well," she coughed. "I don't know, really. I was out feeding the horses when I coughed a couple times. So I came inside." Here she paused to cough and take several slow, labored breaths. "I lay down, and before I knew it I was to weak to get out of bed." She took another deep breath.  
  
"Do you need anything while I am here?"  
  
"Yeah. Will...will you pull up the covers, please?" After Link had done this she gave him further instructions to put some hot water on the stove for tea.  
~*~  
  
"Oh Queeeennnyy!" Link called, teasing the recently crowned queen.  
  
"Link, you pest, what do you want?!" came the almost angry reply. Zelda had always hated to be called "queeny", and Link knew it.  
  
"Zelda, listen, it's Malon... she's sick."  
  
Zelda sat up immediatly from where she had been trying to take a nap. "What?!"  
  
"She's sick. She can't even pull up her own covers..." He told her all he knew. As she heard this, she sank back into her pillows. Suddenly she sat up straight, an idea crossing her mind (and from the looks of it, it wasn't a good idea).  
  
"Link, some of the people...in the market...They're falling ill, too! And it sounds just like Malon! I hope this isn't..." Her voice trailed off, and though the young queen didn't say so, Link knew she feared a plague  
.  
"A plague?" Link asked faintly. Zelda nodded.  
  
"You've just confirmed my worst thoughts... I've seen a lot of sickness before-" Link remembered how she had to work three years as a healer in order to be a full queen (on her father's demands) "-but nothing like this! Oh, goddesses! I don't know what to do!"  
  
Link thought it over. "Well, I'll go talk to Saria. Ruto... how is she   
doing?"  
  
"Ruto? As annoying as ever!" A grin flashed across her face. "Now that she's a queen, too, I talk and work with her lots. I'll talk to her and Nabooru."  
~*~  
  
"Link!" Saria ran up to him and he grabbed her arms and swung her around in a circle. She laughed as he gave her and the other Kokiris a hug.  
  
Getting straight to business, Link said, "Saria, I need to talk to you." Catching the seriousness in Link's voice, Saria nodded gravely and led him to her house. Link smiled as he saw the boy still trying to pull up the plants outside of it. He drew his sword and chopped all the plants, except the one the kid was trying to pull up. That will save him a good twenty years, Link thought as he walked into Saria's home.  
  
"Well?" Saria asked.  
  
Link took a deep breath. "Queen Zelda and I think that there is a plague running around Hyrule. The symptoms are......" With each word Saria bacame paler, until she was chalk white. She had never seen much sickness, being in the protective shade of the Kokiri Forrest. But this...."  
  
"Link, I know! I know what it is and where to get the cure! When I go into the Lost Woods, I often stumble across a door to another world that wasn't there until you came back from Termina." Link had told her of his adventures in Termina... (Don't worry, she can't read minds...) "Don't worry," she told him as he winced, "it isn't Termina. Anyway, in this world there was a great sickness. It's symptoms match all the symptoms of the disease you've just described! It is cureable. But.... I know not where to get the cure. It is only located in the Otherworld." She sighed, but Link pulled her into a big, brotherly hug.  
  
"You son't know how much of a help you've been, squirt," he told her. "I'll be back soon!" he promised.  
~*~   
  
*Knock Knock*  
  
"Come in!" Link opened the door to Zelda's chambers to find three queens sitting in the middle, holding a conference.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't my 'fiance`', my best friend, and the Orange-haired Wonder!" (guess who!) Ruto, Zelda, and Nabooru all stared at him.  
  
"So, you finally admit we're engaged?" asked Ruto sarcastically. "Are you feeling OK?" He picked up a pillow and flung it at Ruto who ducked just in time, so it hit Zelda (who was sitting behind Ruto) instead.   
  
Zelda glared at Link, her hair slightly frazzled. "Some best friend you are," she remarked.  
  
"Heh heh. I always knew you could take a joke!" Link replied slyly.  
  
"What about me, the Orange-haired wonder?" Nabooru chimed in. "What if I can't take a joke?" They all laughed as Link sat down.  
  
"Well," he said, "I'm guessing you already know about..." They nodded. "Well, so does Saria. And, she knows where to find the cure." All three brightened at once.  
  
"Well?!" demanded Ruto. "Where is it?!?"  
  
"I was getting to that," Link answered, "and here's the bad news that goes with the good news. The cure is located in a different world."  
~*~  
  
The end of Chapter One!! Coming soon: Chapter 2: Run Away!   
PLEEZ REVIEW!  
  



	2. Run Away!

Well, that was quick! How was it? Pleez review this one, too! If you noticed any spelling or other mistakes, pleez add those in your review, I don't mind. Well here I go!  
  
~Disclaimer: Zelda is not owned by anyone who uses this computer. (AKA I don't own Zelda)~  
  
[A/N: Because they have the same name, Goron Link will be K. Link, and normal Link will be, well, Link...(duh)]  
  
The Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 2  
Run Away!  
  
Saria had gone to Goron City after Link left the Forest to spread the news of the plague. Darunia was getting too old to rule by himself, and his son, King Link, had taken the roll of King. Darunia was now considered his Royal Advisor, so that the young king would have an experienced hand at ruling to help him.  
  
"Uncle Darunia?" (She calls Darunia her Uncle because she has no family. Nabooru, Zelda, and Ruto are her Aunts, and Link is her brother) "King Link? It's your cousin, Saria," she called.  
  
"In here, Saria," answered K. Link. As she walked in, Saria groaned.  
  
"Uncle Darunia! You, too?!"  
  
Darunia looked up at her and smiled, but it was a weak, half-hearted smile. K. Link looked up and said, "What do you mean, you too?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," Saria tried to answer, but her eyes were glued on Darunia, brimming with tears. "Well... Aunt Zelda and Link-no not you, the other one- think-and are almost 100% sure- that there is a plague running around, and I came here to check if the Gorons caught it, too."  
  
K. Link cursed under his breath. "Well," he said with a sigh, "is there a cure?"  
Saria nodded. She told him all she knew about the cure.  
~*~  
  
Two days later, after the leaders of all Hylian nations had been contacted, Link visited Malon again. He made sure she was being taken care of properly, but it made him insecure to know that Malon, his brave, strong, funny, Malon was so sick.  
  
"Hey Link, watcha been doing lately?" Link smiled and told her all he knew, from the meeting with Zelda to what Saria had told him of Darunia and King Link. She groaned. "Darunia, too?! Goddesses, this sucks! I can't even sing..." She gasped for breath and coughed instead. She gave Link a tiny smile, and said, "You should see yourself, Link. You look horrified...."  
  
Link tried to smile, but couldn't. "Well, Mal, I gotta scram. I'll see you later." He gently stroked her hand and got up to leave.  
~*~  
  
"Zelda?" Link cursed. He had looked every where for the Queen, but she was nowhere to be found. "Hey, you!" An old servant stopped and looked at him, then bowed deeply.  
  
"How can I help you, Master Link?"  
  
"Where's Zelda?!" He demanded, not bothering to use any formalities.  
  
The servant gasped, and replied, "You don't know?! She is in the Hospi-" He couldn't finish for Link had already ran off to the Hospital Wing. He ran into several servants and visitors, but he couldn't care less. On his way there, he delivered the foulest, ripest language he knew, wasting every breath to curse the sickness, the Queen herself, and himself for being so careless. Upon hearing him, one Noble Lady fainted at the language she had never heard, and one man yelled treason (he overheard Link cursing Zelda). Finally he reached the area the man had suggested, held his breath, and opened the door. Goddesses, he prayed, don't let it be-... bad... He had caught sight of her before he had finished his prayer, but knew it was too late for that.  
  
"It got me, Link," she told him after he had rushed to her side. "Look at me, Queen of all Hyrule, lying here in bed, sick beyond even my Healers powers." She chuckled, but it was interrupted by a coughing fit. Link's eyes stung with unwanted tears, and he brushed them aside impatiently. Suddenly-  
  
"QUEEN ZELDA!!!!" Cried a running servant. Zelda and Link looked at the panting servant. "Your Majesty, it's spreading so quickly! We can't keep track of it anymore. It is in Goron City, Kokiri Forest,-" Link's heart dropped "-Gerudo Fortress, and Zora River! All the hospitals are filled up!"  
  
Zelda turned to Link and held out her hand; he quickly took it and looked into her fevered eyes. "Link," the queen gasped, "you must go and save this land a second time! Run away from this awful place! Come back and save your Queen!" She fainted from lack of air.   
  
Link ran, as fast as he could, not once pausing for air. Past a servant, bang open a door, dodge a tree, through the field, all the way to Saria's house. He was so intent on making it there that he didn't notice the Kokiris were not out and playing by the water, or in the bushes, or anywhere. He burst into her house, and, panting hard, doubled over from running so hard, exclaimed, "SARIA!! Take me to the Otherworld entrance." One look into his pain-filled eyes, and she knew something had gone very wrong.  
  
"I can't run very fast...."   
  
Link only paused for a second. He pulled out his Ocarina and Saria, understanding at once, came to him and took his arm in hers. "Here we go," he told her, and played Minuet of Forest.  
  
"Through here!" She called as they stumbled past an entrance Link had never seen before. Before he stepped through, he bent over and gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, brother," she whispered as he dashed through the hollow log. A single teardrop fell from her face to daintily fall and splat on the ground as she turned and walked bravely away.  
  



	3. Lareena

Hi, wassup? I have now gotten some better progress in my story, so I hope it is more enjoyable. Please forgive any spelling/grammar mistakes, and/or point them out in a review. Remember: The more reviews I get the better I can make my story!  
  
~Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda~  
  
  
The Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 3-  
Lareena  
  
The entry to this Otherworld was much different to that of Termina. Instead of endlessly falling, Link simply walked into a vast forest. He judged he was probably in the center of it, but despite his good sense of direction, he wished he had asked Saria more about this place. Sword and shield drawn, he plunged into the lush greenery, constantly aware of his surroundings.   
  
About three hours later, he stopped to cool his aching feet in a pond. While his feet dangled in the pond, toes touching the bottom if he stretched (Odd, he considered, normally ponds start shallower than this....), he pulled out his trusty Ocarina of Time. Zelda had given it to him after she was crowned, telling him he would be a better keeper of it than her. He played songs he knew, songs he had just made up, and occasionally notes that didn't even make a song. To his surprise, as soon as he had finished playing the Ocarina, a burst of applause and cheers came from the other side of the pond.  
  
Link was on his feet in a second, silently berating himself for letting his guard down. A girl was sitting on a rock across the pond and laughed as the not-booted warrior stood there...and stood there...and stood there...and stood there, never once letting his stony gaze on her drop. When she stood up, he held his sword out higher. Finally, she called, "Do I look like I am about to jump across the pond and kill you? I have no weapon, save my hands and feet." Nevertheless, Evilenemy still held its proud tip high. After a good three minutes, the girl walked around to where Link was standing.  
  
"Ok...." She said, and sat on a rock. "I'll start.... My name is Lareena. This is my home, and I think you should explain why you trespass here. Your name, business, and why you carry those weapons...."  
  
Link sighed and sat down on the ground. "Ok, fine. I am Link of Hyrule, Hero of Time, savior of the worlds Hyrule and Termina, and (my most recent title)-" he rolled his eyes, and she giggled "-Friend of all Nations. I come here on the request of Her Royal Highness, Queen Zelda, to find the cure for a plague that has struck all of Hyrule. I am sorry I trespassed, and I'm sure all of my silly titles should explain why I have these weapons."   
  
"How did you get all those titles? I understand the Link of Hyrule, but Hero of Time...?" So Link and Lareena spent the rest of the day talking about his titles, their homeworlds (Lareena was no stranger to Otherworlds), and other things. When he came to talking of Zelda, she looked at him funny. "If she is the Queen, why don't you call her Queen Zelda, or something along those lines? You only seem to call her 'Zelda'."  
  
Link laughed. "Well, we've been best friends since I was ten years old, and we saved Hyrule together. When she became Queen, she insisted that she needn't be called queen this, Her Highness that, by her best friend. She said she got enough of that from the nobles, servants, etc." Lareena considered this for a moment, than decided it was a good reason. By the time night fell, each felt like they had known the other for many years.   
  
"Well," Lareena sighed, "goodnight, Link." She went up into the tree that she slept in and watched him as he laid out a blanket that he always carried beneath his shield to sleep on.   
~*~  
[A/N: The dream part was in Italics, but the weird program I have doesn't save Italics...]  
  
It was a dark night in Hyrule Castle, but Queen Zelda could not sleep. Exhausted as she was, she sat up weakly in her sick bed and looked around. She had the odd sense that there was evil around, a talent she had acquired since she was awakened as a Sage. In his dream, Link was next to the Queen. "LLIINNKK!!" She cried at him when she turned and saw him there. "There is evil where you are! Wake up! WAKE UP!!" After her warning was completed, she fainted.  
~*~  
  
Link woke with a start. Everything around him felt calm, he could hear some nocturnal animals going about the business, Lareena's gentle breath from the tree above, but nothing that could have to do with what Zelda had warned. Yet he heeded the warning, remembering that the queen had never been wrong in her predictions. "Lareena?" he called. "There's danger near. Stay alert and help me find it, 'k?"   
  
"All right," she replied, already awake and moving. There was a rustle in a nearby bush, and immediately Link aimed his sword at it. When the thing came out, he looked at it in confusion. Surely THIS wasn't what Zelda had warned him about... Lareena laughed. "If that's your danger, you should go back to sleep. It's more likely to snuggle with you than to bite you." Upon hearing her voice, the fuzzy squirrel darted behind the bush again. "You don't have squirrels in Hyrule?" He shook his head no. Another laugh.  
  
"I'll be back. Can you defend yourself while I'm gone? Do you want my bow?"   
  
She snorted. "I've got my own bow and arrows." Link nodded, and headed out and into the woods. For a while he saw nothing. He listened hard, but still there was nothing. Finally, he turned and gave up, heading back towards his camp. He was hungry and dawn was on the way. Maybe Zelda was wrong this time because of her fever. He realized he had ventured farther away from camp than he had intended.   
  
Then came the scream. His heart froze as he heard a battle cry from an unearthly warrior, and Lareena's own terrified scream at the same time. He ran towards the sounds until he was back at camp. To his horror he saw a creature twice his size cowering over Lareena, standing between her long bow and quiver and herself. Her back was turned to Link, but the creature saw him and turned his three red eyes and drooling fangs to Link, who had his sword drawn, ready to strike the rocky hide of the twelve foot thing.   
  
To both Lareena and Link's great surprise, the Thing laughed. "Do you think you can kill me with that wimpy sword, Link, Hero of Time? Your pathetic blade would bounce off my armor, as did your friend's arrow," it mocked. Lareena fainted from the sheer shock of the thing talking, but Link stood his ground.  
  
"I have other uses for this blade," he replied, his voice telling of courage that only one with the Triforce of Courage could possess. Indeed, if he did not have such a precious item, he would have turned and ran from the awful, scratchy voice that cam from this Thing. Instead, he continued, "You may not see it, but I can do many things with this blade other than strike. I also have other weapons than a bow or a sword." Already he was weaving the magical illusion of himself holding his sword in both hand while secretly was taking out Din's Fire from his pocket. While circling his opponent, Link edged closer and closer to Lareena, and when he was finally right next to her, he taunted the beast, saying, "Afraid to get closer, are we? Come on, coward! Fight like the beast you are!" As the enraged Thing lumbered forward as fast as it could, Link stepped one foot over Lareena and threw Din's Fire, creating a shield of fire for them. The Thing saw it and ran, but the fire, circling out in a twenty-five foot radius, still found its way to it and scorched it. The minute the fire left the thing, Link dashed forward and chopped his sword at the burns.   
  
The Thing cried out one last defiant cry, fell to his knees, and cursed Link. Gasping, it told him, "Let you never have a moment of peace! Link of Hyrule, hear this! I am Prince of the Hajuks, and you will never be forgotten by us for this! Never!" With that he fell on his back and died.  
~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Nadome

Heyho, People-O's!! OK, don't ask me.... Um, yeah. Anyway, here is chapter four! Sorry it's been a while since I posted a chpt, but I have been pretty busy.... Oh, well. Please read and review!!  
  
Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 4  
Nadome  
  
Lareena was standing over the exhausted Link. He had battled thirteen monsters since the Prince of Hajuks. Lareena gave him a cup filled with a delicious liquid he had never tasted before. "What is this?"  
  
"It's koi-berry juice. Don't you have koi-berries in Hyrule?"   
  
Link shook his head. It no longer hurt; he supposed koi-berries could do minor healing. "You know," Lareena chattered, "I saw you do all that magic. Where did you learn it?"  
  
"Well, I had to take a special class from this crazy fairy. She taught me all I ever needed to know. But get this: she had_pink hair_!!" Lareena laughed and threw a playful punch at Link.   
  
"Get out! Did she really?!" Link nodded, grinning, and took another sip of the blue juice. Lareena sat down next to Link. She had been his guide for the last four days, and she had grown to like him a lot more than she did when she first met him. "You know, Link, I haven't traveled this far from my home in a long time. I stayed there since my family died." She told him this without flinching, but he could hear the hurt in her voice.  
  
"Died?" he inquired gently.   
  
She nodded. Tears brimmed her eyes as she told him her sad story. "When I was seven I lived in that town, the one on the horizon. We, my mom, dad, older brother, and I, had lived there all lives. Dad took me out every year into these woods, and my current home was where he and I spent those happy days." She looked down. "But those, those...STUPID bandits came. They killed mom and dad in front of our eyes. Then," she paused, wiped her eyes, looked up at the starry sky, and continued shakily, "they advanced on us. They thought I was pretty, so they killed my brother and spared me. But barely. They... beat me... and left me to die." Her fists clenched defiantly. "I dragged myself to a corner of the room, away from my family. I sat there for days, resting until I could stand up and get myself to the kitchen, where my mother kept healing herbs and bandages. For weeks I nursed myself back to health. When I was strong enough, I buried my family and packed my things. When I left the trashed house, I saw the village. The bandits had spared no one but me. So for three more weeks, I buried friends, neighbors, and animals. There was one dead bandit. I left him for the vultures." She paused again, drew in a heavy breath, and rasped, "I came here, where Dad had taken me all those years ago. I spent my life in that clearing, learning where to get food, what was good and what wasn't. Soon people moved into my village. They built it up, they made it work. But they know not the awful history. They probably think all of Nadome is perfect. But I have never trusted people since that day." Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. She looked into Link's eyes, and forced a smile. "I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess I'm wrong.... Anyway, after that I found many new worlds, and traveled to them. I have often considered running away, but I always feel as if I would be forgetting my family if I did. So I live here."  
  
Link stared at her. He had never heard such an awful story since Ganandorf. He didn't even know which story was worse. "I had no idea.... Is Nadome the name of this land?" Lareena nodded. "You were_seven_?! How...how could someone be so awful?!" She burst into fresh sobs. He put his arms around her, not knowing how to comfort her any better. The only time any of his friends needed comforting was when the King died, but he wouldn't dare hug Zelda, because some would suspect scandal. So he simply held Lareena close to him and let her sob into his tunic, gently rocking her back and forth. Eventually she fell asleep; Link softly laid her down onto a blanket he had put down earlier that evening so they could eat dinner.   
  
Link sat up thinking, not knowing what to do. He came here to find a cure. Obviously he had to find a doctor or healer. How many people had died in his absence? How many more had fallen ill? How were Malon, Zelda, and Darunia? How was he going to get back? What and where was the cure? What about Lareena?  
  
The last thought had struck him hard. Lareena was not happy here anymore. Maybe she knew the way back to Hyrule. Maybe she even knew the cure, or at least where to find it. Perhaps Zelda would let her stay in Hyrule. He didn't know. He hoped she would, he loved Lareena with all his heart.   
~*~  
  
When Lareena woke, she found Link still asleep. She almost laughed at him; he looked nothing like the battle-hardened warrior she knew when he was sprawled out in the grass, hat slipping off sideways, sleeping.   
  
She picked up her long bow and left camp. She hunted for their lunch, and found a gray reng. Gray rengs were known all around Nadome for their wonderful taste, texture, and tenderness. After killing it cleanly she stopped and said a short prayer. Then she went on to find some koi-berries.   
  
All the time she was out, she thought of Link. All the kind things he had done for her. She knew she should repay him, but she didn't know how. Except... but no! She couldn't do that! Her mother asked her to keep it a secret before she died. And yet, if she didn't give him the cure, thousands from Hyrule would die. But... there was something else about the plague that wouldn't be cured by the potion she could make. Something, or someone, behind all this that was evil.   
  
When she returned to camp, she saw Link was up. She called good morning and went to build a fire.   
  
Link came to join her. "Lareena...." He sighed, looking uneasy. "Do you know anything about the plague?"  
  
Lareena hesitated, then replied, "Yes. It hit here the year before my parents died. But, there is something different about it. In Nadome, it was horrific, just like in Hyrule. And yet, there is.... I have a strange feeling that something in the plague was set up by someone or something evil. And," she took a deep breath, "I know the cure."  
  
  



	5. Visiting Home

Hi! I'm really sorry that it has taken such a long time to upload each chapter. If you are still reading my fic and you like it, please recommend it to others. Alright! On to the story!  
  
Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 5  
Visiting Home  
  
Link didn't want to hear excuses. Lareena should have told him! Now he sat with his back to her, staring out into space. He knew he'd have to talk to her sooner or later, but.... Girls....  
  
Lareena sat with her arms hugging her knees to her chest. She wanted Link to listen... why wouldn't he?! She knew she'd have to talk some sense into him before his queen died. She knew everything about him now, for on their journey they had confided in eachother. She looked at Link's back, then down again. Boys....  
  
Link turned around slowly. Lareena was not looking at him. He was about to call to her, when-  
  
"SSSSSSSSSKKKKRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"  
  
"My goddesses!" Link swore. "Lareena, what the heck is that thing?!" He looked down breifly to see Lareena first paralyzed in fear, and then a broadening smile spreading across her face. The creature she stared at was ice-blue, and about ten feet tall. It was a giant bird like thing that had landed near their camp.  
  
"That, Link, is the one and only Iceana in this land. It is peacful. Ask it to accept your sword." Link stared at her, dumbfounded. What did she think she was saying?! "Do it, Link!"  
  
On command, Link went up to the giant thing and held out his sword. "Would you ta-take my sword?" He wasn't scared; he had the triforce of courage. He thought this was the stupidest, funniest thing he had ever done.  
  
But the Iceana reached out one huge, clawed wing and picked up the sword. "Now be very quiet and still, Link. This will be awesome," Lareena murmured. Link didn't move.   
  
The Iceana held the blade, so tiny compared to his great mass, and plunged it into his heart with no hesitation. I blinding ice-blue light filled the air arounf the Iceana, and it smiled. He did not die. Or scream. Instead it pulled the blade out of his heart and held it forward to Link. In a mystical voice, he said, "You have the only Iceblade in the world, all worlds that is. It's elements are stronger than any other, nothing can save what you have struck with this blade. I have watched you, Hero of Time. You are a worthy carrier of such a weapon. Please accept this gift."  
  
Link, awed, pulled the sword back to him. It now had a cool touch, and even his hand couldn't warm the handle. He looked at the blade, and immediatly knew what was different. The Iceana had given part of itself into the blade. On it's smoothe metal were aquamarine ice stones, covering all of the blade but still having the sharpest touch. He told the Iceana, "I accept this gift with an open heart. How can I repay you?"  
  
The Iceana smiled. "You already have. All my life I lived under the enchantment of an evil magician. His curse was: until I found someone worthy to bear a blade of ice from me, I could not die. Thirty-thousand years I have awaited a hero such as yourself! Now I can die in peace. Use the Iceblade wisely, hero." With that he flew off into the sky.  
~*~  
  
They had talked it over. Link would take the cure back to Hyrule tomorrow. But he felt something else was wrong with the plague. He would come back after giving the cure to some trusted people and find what evil thing was really behind the plague. Lareena would wait at the world entry and guide him once he came through again. He was still mad. He had wasted over a week traveling for nothing! But at least she finally told him.... Oh well. Forgive and forget.  
~*~  
  
The journey back to the Otherworld transporter hole was rather uneventful. Link and Lareena talked a lot and avoided all battles they could. Link could now kill any enemy with a single hit of his blade, which he now called Iceblade in memory of the Iceana. They made it back in three days. "Well, I guess we part here, huh?" Lareena asked quietly when they reached the portal.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we do. But we'll see eachother soon. Don't worry," Link said. "I'll be back soon." He grinned. "Now, can I have that potion?" Together they had brewed the cure on the eve of the third day. "Dawn will be here soon, and I will have time to get the cure into trusted hands by the time they wake up. I promise I'll hurry."  
  
Lareena looked at him in the eyes. Never had she seen such a sincere promise in eyes. She smiled. "Please do." Link smiled back and pulled her into a tight hug. Next thing she knew he was gone through the tunnel with the cure; she sat down on the grass. Now all she had to do was wait.  
~*~  
  
Link found himself in the Lost Woods. "Saria?" He called. "Are you here?"  
  
"No," came a reply. Link whirled around to find Mido sitting on the steps. "She's sick."  
  
Link sat down with a thump. Malon, Zelda, Darunia, and now Saria. "Who else?"   
  
"Impa. Ruto. Rauru. Nabooru is not ill. Do you have the cure?" Link nodded. Mido brightened at once. "Great! Now you can go heal the queen and Saria and everyone else!!!"  
  
Link stood up in a daze. Nabooru.... The sixth sage.... The only still standing sage. Goddesses, this was bad! If Nabooru fell ill while Link was giving the cure to someone, the Sacred Realm might not hold together. Pulling out his Ocarina, he warped to the Temple of Time, and quickly made his way to the castle. No guards dared to defy him; he had Iceblade drawn and held in front of him menacingly. Walking up to the front gate, he demanded, "How is Zelda?!"  
  
"The...The que-queen is d-d-doing fine, s-s-sir. B-b-but she n-needs help-p now."   
  
Link's eyes showed no emotion. He put his sword away and walked past the protesting guards without looking at anything but the front doors to the castle. All who opposed him were threatened by an icy glare that would make anyone, even Ganondorf, wet his/her pants. He grabbed a frightened servant. "I need to see the queen, now." It was not a command, nor was it a request. It was a statement that no one could hear and not take action too. He was led quickly to Zelda.  
  
"Link," cried Zelda happily, "you've returned!" Before doing anything else, not even a saying "hello", Link made her drink some of the cure. "Oh, I feel better already! Now, tell me all that happened."  
  
"I can't. I have a promise to keep. Once you feel better, help Nabooru keep hold on the Sacred Realm. She's the only sage not sick. Order the healers to give the other sages the antidote right away. Each person only needs a sip to heal them. But every sick person must remain right where they are, or will become sick again." Seeing her curious/frightened look, Link continued, "Don't ask now. I'll explain everything once I come back." Leaving the potion in Zelda's hands, he stood and left the room.  
~*~  
  
How he did it no one will ever know. He made it back to the Lost Woods, without warping, in less then an hour. How he found the entrance to Nadome, no one, not even Link himself, will ever know. The only thing that matters is he somehow did.   
  
Lareena was waiting right where she said she would be. Link had changed, she noticed. He no longer had any playful element in his beautiful blue eyes. His face had hardened, and he seemed to only want to find the cause of the plague. "Has the queen died, Link?" She asked.  
  
"No. But... do you remember what I told you of Ganondorf? And the seven sages?" Lareena nodded. "Well, all the sages but one had fallen ill, and I'm sure Nabooru would have been next had I not returned with the cure. Someone or something is working for Ganondorf in this world. If Nabooru had also been sick, the Sacred Realm would weaken so much Ganondorf would escape and kill everyone in the land. I also know that if anyone cured decides to get up, they will find themselves more sick, as if the cure hadn't touched them. So I must find the evil sorcerer."  
~*~  
  
  
  
[OK? Is anyone still reading my story? If you are, PLEASE REVIEW! Also, if you like it, please recommend it to your friends. REVIEW, flame, give comments on spelling, compliments, ANYTHING!!! PPPPLLLLEEEAAAASSSEEE REVIEW] 


End file.
